Bittersweet Lullaby
by Demons of the arch angel
Summary: [How do good fairy tales usually start? With once upon a time, right? Well, I suppose this story starts the same way.] Crossover with Frozen, Brave, Tangled and How to Train Your Dragon. Warnings and pairings inside. Not related to Frozen Butterfly Wings. Summary is stated the first chapter. I won't repeat it. Someone had to do a story like this for this pairing. -Anime
1. Chapter 1: Not-So Sweet Fairy Tale

**Title: Bittersweet Lullaby**

**Rating: T+**

**Pairings: Jack x Alice, Jack x Elsa (*dies in a corner*), Anna x Kristoff, Elizabeth x Cheshire, Pitch x Red Queen, Rowan x Arwyn (OC Pairing), Rapunzel x Flynn**

**Warnings: OOCness, OCs, rantings from a mad author, implying sexual content, grammatical errors, no beta and Jelsa**

**Anime: I have returned in this new Jalice story Bittersweet Lullaby based on Heather Dale's song Mordred's Lullaby! There are some points I'd like to make between this story and Frozen Butterfly Wings. I'm using the OCs of FBW but they have a small twist. Not to mention they're going to be more developed. Tell me if they're better here or in FBW.**

**Alice: Anime would like to thank the two reviewers (both Guests) that wanted this to happen. Like FBW, this story is dedicated to all the shippers of Ice Tea, one of the greatest shipping in the crossover section.**

**Jack: Bittersweet Lullaby will be a crossover between Rise of the Guardians, American McGee's Alice, Frozen, Brave, Tangled and How To Train Your Dragon. Why is Anime doing it? That will be explained later.**

**Anime: Just kidding. I just wanted to add them in to spice up the story. This is going to have drama, romance, supernatural elements, humor, hurt/comfort, adventure, angst, crime, family, friendship and fantasy. **

**Aster: Before beginning, Anime would like to note that this story may seem like a typical story where there are kings and queens and all that jazz. However! There shall be modern talk and objects in here because this isn't the past. It's like an alternate universe where ancient monarchy exists along with modern day technology and life. Odd mix, huh?**

**Jehu: There is, sadly, JELSA in here. Don't try to murder us for having that forbidden ship here is crucial to the plot of this story.**

**Jaden: Aster, Black Ruins, Aria, Rayne, Sariya, Rowan and Arwyn all belong to the Frozen Butterfly Wings story. Christian, Elle, Aerith, Sophie, Ethan, Calen, Lilly, Drew and Artemis are exclusively to this story. **

**Anime: I own them all. I also own my versions of humanoid!Cheshire, humanoid!Baby Tooth, humanoid!Bunny and humanoid!Tooth. The rest of the unfamiliar characters are OCs but they won't be important.**

**Christian: Enjoy your sneak peek at the world within Bittersweet Lullaby.**

_**~~~Bittersweet Lullaby~~~**_

1: Start of the Not-So Sweet Fairy Tale

How do good fairy tales usually start? With once upon a time, right? Well, I suppose this story starts the same way. Once upon a time, in a distant land, there used to be a great realm ruled by The White King and his four sons. They lived in peace and prosperity until the great beast Kyuon stuck the land. To fight the beast of chaos, the King of Wanderers, a potent omnikinetic, bestowed some of his powers to the king and his sons, disappearing as soon as Kyuon was sealed.

Wishing for more power, the eldest son murdered the king and fought for control of the kingdom against his three younger brothers. Within each realm, a destructive civil war broke out. The proud kingdoms divided into four, each brother taking a different region.

Centuries later, the four kingdoms had divided into seven and were ruled by the seven royal families that descended from the original bloodline. The prince of Winteria, Jackson Overland Frost, through the act of his dying father, was engaged to the princess of Arendelle, Elsa Arendelle.

Jack did not love Elsa and wished to marry a girl he truly loved. During a ball hosted in Arendelle, Jack met the headstrong princess of Wonderland, Alice Liddell. She was the second daughter of the king, although she had been crowned as the next queen of Wonderland.

Jack and Alice gradually fell in love, despite Jack's engagement to Elsa. Alice was oblivious to that engagement, an engagement Jack was ready to break to be with Alice.

One fateful day, however, their love came crashing down. Wonderland Castle and its city were attacked by the army of Ruin, the kingdom of Angus Bumby. There were no survivors in the castle. In the blink of an eye, Jack had lost the woman he had ever loved. Still mourning the loss of his love, Jack married Elsa as was planned and he became the king of Winteria as well as Arendelle.

Unbeknownst to all, the attack on Wonderland Castle did not kill everyone. Four of its occupants had managed to escape that day: the royal sorcerer Pitch Black, the blacksmith Nickolas North and the two princesses Alice and Elizabeth Liddell.

Alice discovered that Jack and Elsa had been engaged during their relationship, angering her greatly. As she was ready to storm into Winteria Castle, though, Alice collapsed and the survivors discovered that a part of the king of Winteria lived within Alice's womb.

Alice's pregnancy was hidden. She and the others took refuge in the home of a wizard nicknamed 'Cheshire', a close friend to Duke Hatter who had been Alice's childhood friend. There, she gave birth to a handsome little boy. Because of his pale white hair that shone like starlight, he was given the name Aster.

Alice raised Aster in secret, grooming her child to the life of a warrior and of an aristocrat. Aster grew up hating his father for what he had done to his mother. Alice sought vengeance for Jack's deceit, telling her child that he had to make sure that revenge would be completed.

All the while, hiding in the shadows and learning the ways of a warrior and an aristocrat, Aster grew up with his mother's haunting bittersweet lullaby of revenge. This is how our tale of vengeance, lies and betrayal begins. Well, not now. No.

It begins sixteen years later in an attempted assassination in Ruin.

_**~~~Bittersweet Lullaby~~~**_

"Starlight, what do you think you're doing here?" A voice hissed from the shadows. The speaker was wearing a tight black suit meant for sneaking around. A mask covered most of the male's – for it was a masculine voice speaking – face, allowing only his turquoise blue eyes to be seen. Around his waist was a black belt where a dagger rested on its sheath.

The other figure he was speaking to was wearing a similar outfit to his own, allowing brilliant green eyes to be seen. He had two daggers in his belt instead of one and the belt had more intricate designs that resembled tree branches. He snorted, "Well, Ice, why'd you follow me here?"

"Mother told you I'd take this mission! Go away!" 'Ice' told the other. He seemed to be annoyed by the other's appearance here, glaring icily at the other. He huffed, "This is just like you. I've always wondered why Mother doesn't just kick you out of our organization."

"She doesn't because I'm her best assassin. This is why I should be here instead of you, Christian. Honestly, I deserve to be here. I need to kill this bastard and his son. It'll be part of my revenge for Wonderland." 'Starlight' replied, chuckling darkly.

Christian sighed, "Aster, you may be the calmest out of all of us assassins but, when it comes to your vengeance, you don't know how to control yourself. I swear, you must get it from your mother."

"Hn," Aster replied, "Mother knows best. Speaking of which, where's our target anyways?" Aster was ecstatic. Finally, he would murder the first and only son of the bastard who had murdered his grandparents during the battle of Wonderland nearly sixteen years ago. Yes, vengeance was his.

"Black R. Bumby. Age 19. He is the only son of Angus Bumby and the late queen Heather Bumby and the heir to the throne of Ruin." Christian replied as they both continued to make their way to the room where their target rested. He glanced at Aster, "I'm telling you, I can handle this on my own. Go home."

"I finished my mission already. I've been itching to do this one," Aster replied, eyes staring straight at the door in front of them. This was it. As soon as Black was killed, his father Angus would be next. Then he'd kill Jack Frost and his queen Elsa, along with their daughters, and his mother and he will be free of their vengeance. The vengeance he craved so much to complete.

"Just don't do anything-."

At that moment, the door to the room Black was in opened. Christian and Aster both froze in place and Aster closed his eyes, relaxing as Black started walking past them, not knowing they were there.

Black Bumby was a tall, pale, lithe figure with black hair that had blood-red highlights. His eyes were crimson red with golden spots in them. He wore a black buttoned shirt, black slacks and a black coat. His eyes were looking straight ahead and his head held up high. Black was, Aster knew, the perfect image of a snobbish aristocrat.

Black stopped and chuckled, "I'm impressed. Your hallucikinesis is impressive, I must admit. However, assassin, my umbrakinesis detected you long ago."

At this, Christian and Aster both jumped out of the shadows. Christian opened his palms to reveal orbs of snow, launching them at Black in rapid procession. Black dodged them, using the darkness as a shield. He raised an eyebrow, "Frigokinesis? I assume you also have cryokinesis, assassin. How odd. Which family are you from? Arendelle? Frost?"

"Shit." Aster hissed as Christian screamed in pain after a black energy ball hit him and stared at Black. Black's eyes widened as turned rigid but then he relaxed, "Biokinesis? Only members of the Liddell family have that power, assassin. I'm impressed. Are you a Liddell, then?"

"Silence, Black Bumby. We're here to kill you." Aster growled. He hadn't expected the prince to use his powers against them. He was glad that he had come. If Christian had been alone, he might've succumbed to the powers of the eldest male. Christian stood up, shooting some ice at Black's feet to keep him from moving.

"You two are the oddest assassins I've met. However, you forgot one thing." Black smirked, "I also have hallucikinesis." He chuckled and vanished, leaving behind an ice block. Aster cursed at their mistake. He had overlooked that detail! Fuck, he was in trouble now.

"Behind you!" Christian yelled and Aster managed to leap away from the dagger that had been about to stab him. It narrowly hit his arm but it still managed to make a cut, drawing out blood. Aster's eyes widened at the sight of it, a sense of dread falling over his head. Yeah, he was screwed over.

"Haemokinesis, little Liddell," Black whispered, appearing two feet away from Aster. Apparently, he had use the darkness of the hallway to his advantage, blending his umbrakinesis and hallucikinesis to be able to pull this off, "A very handy kinetic power, do you not agree?"

Screw the risks, Aster thought as he launched himself at Black, having unsheathed one of his daggers to attack. He was being reckless and he knew it. If his mother was here, she'd scowl at his mistake and reprimand him for it. However, his mother wasn't here. His voice of reason wasn't by his side at the moment.

"Pathetic fool." Black chuckled, lifting a hand in front of him.

Aster stopped in midair, his body no longer cooperating with him. He gritted his teeth in irritation. Shit, this was quite the dilemma. Behind him, Christian stopped moving, his eyes widening at the situation Aster was in. Haemokinesis. The ability to manipulate blood. This was not a fight that Aster had the advantage. How could he help his friend, his brother?

Black sighed, "Did you really intend on killing me, assassin? You should've thought about it, boy, before trying it. I am descended from a powerful line. You are just a Liddell. That line might as well be dead."

Aster growled as Black approached him. He had an idea of how they could kill the bastard but he needed Christian to understand the plan. He closed his eyes and tried to link his mind with Christian's, manipulating his thoughts so he could figure out about the plan. Cogitokinesis was a handy power.

Aster opened his mouth and he began his song:

_I bet you didn't notice_

_First time your heart was broken_

_You called me up and we talked til the morning_

Black stopped, staring at Aster with wonder. Christian smirked at Aster's quick thinking. All of the royal families had a gift with music; whoever heard them sing were easily transfixed by them. This power, Christian had read, supposedly came from the sirens and mermaids from the Lirianed Ocean.

Aster mentally chuckled as Black stared deep into his eyes, looking like such a fool. He was glad that he had this gift. It came in handy. He had lured many of his targets to their deaths with his voice. There was a reason he was nicknamed the Siren, amongst other titles.

_And the time that you were stranded_

_I was there before you landed_

_He was a no show_

_I made sure you got home_

Christian approached Black, dagger raised and ready to kill the prince of Ruin. This was it. They were going to complete this mission. The son of the tyrant would be killed and the lineage of Bumby would be over.

Black was unaware of his upcoming death, staring deep into the green orbs of the assassin in front of him. He had never seen a person with such soulful eyes. They seemed to show a different world. Those eyes were filled with so many emotions. It was amazing. The voice of the assassin was beautiful, as luring as a Siren's song.

_I've been right there_

_For every minute_

_This time, it's no different_

_Whatever happens you should know, whoa_

Aster made eye contact with Christian and gave brief nod. "Die!" Christian yelled as he launched himself at Black. However, before anything could happen, a deep voice spoke from the darkness.

"Stop your singing, Siren!"

All three males fell to the ground, the effects of their powers vanishing. Aster and Christian immediately looked up to see King Angus Bumby heading towards them, several guards behind him. They looked at each other and nodded, standing up and running just as Bumby called out the order for their deaths.

"Ice, do you trust me?" Aster asked as they headed towards a dead end. At Christian's nod, Aster grabbed his hand and both jumped out a window, breaking the glass. The guards, along with the two royals, stopped in front of the window, seeing the assassins fall from the eighth floor.

Before they could fall, however, both of them began to fly. Black blinked, seeing both assassins flying away, "Father, that's aerokinesis! Only the members of the Frost family have that power!"

"This is ludicrous!" A guard shouted, "How did they manage to get inside the castle and make it this far without any of us being alerted?"

"One of those assassins that came in here had hallucikinesis. It was simple for them to enter because of their powers." The king replied, gazing at the sky where the figures had disappeared to.

Angus Bumby appeared to be slightly middle-aged, with a slim figure and broad shoulders. His face was long and thin, with a pointy chin and defined cheekbones, along with a bony nose and hands. His hair was dark brown, cut to the nape of his neck and combed into a side parting to his right-hand side. He also had a full beard and mustache. His eyes were small and pale in color, an odd comparison to his son's bright eyes. He wore black trousers, a white shirt, a gray waistcoat with a red tie along with a brown coat.

"You called one of those assassins Siren, Father," Black began as the guards began to search the palace in case if there were more infiltrators inside their fortress-like castle, "Do you know that assassin?"

Bumby regarded his son with mild curiosity. He seemed to be interested in the one who had attempted to kill him. This was rather interesting, as Black tended to ignore practically everyone. The fact that this measly assassin had caught his son's interest was both good and bad. Good for him and his son for their own reasons . . . bad for that assassin.

"I do not. However, I've heard rumors about him. He has several nicknames, never confiding with his name. Siren, Singing Death, Starlight; his method of killing is hypnotizing his targets with his voice and, often times, his own splendor. He is very dangerous and efficient. Every one of his targets ends up six feet under the ground. You were close to being one of them."

"Siren, huh?" Black smirked, thinking about that beautiful voice and those soulful green eyes that hid nothing but were so mysterious at the same time, "He's caught my attention. That untamable assassin will belong to me soon."

_**~~~Bittersweet Lullaby~~~**_

"Idiot! What were you thinking?!" A female voice screamed from a building in Winteria, the kingdom of Jack Frost. The building was in the town's square, making many people turn towards the noise, although it was something common to hear.

The building was three stories high, the third story having a balcony to overlook the town. It was painted a simple gray color and its entrance were a set of double doors. Above the entrance, a sign read: Academy for Winteria's Talented Children. Indeed, it was a school, although it sometimes didn't seem like it.

Inside the academy, Aster and Christian were in the second floor, a room closed off for the normal students. Sitting in the desk across from them was a thirty-four year old woman. She had a slender figure and a fair complexion, along with turquoise blue eyes, rosy cheeks, thin lips, long strawberry-blonde hair, bangs down her forehead and a dusting of freckles. She was wearing a simple light blue dress with short sleeves and black gloves, her hair loose.

"Mother, r-r-relax," Christian tried to placate his mother, a nervous grin plastered on his face. Both he and Aster were out of their assassin uniforms, wearing normal school clothing. Both of them wore a white buttoned shirt, a red tie, black slacks, black dress shoes and a dark blue blazer.

Christian had short blond hair that was almost golden, fair skin and turquoise eyes. He also had a dusting of freckles on his face and had a slender figure like his mother's. He was tall, being around five feet nine, and had a slight muscular build.

Aster had white hair, paler skin than both occupants of the room and brilliant green eyes. He had no signs of freckles on his face or any other blemishes. His face, however, showed signs of malnutrition and so did his body figure. He was very thin, as if he sometimes fasted. He was shorter than Christian at five feet six, but he seemed to be of average height. He hardly had any muscle, due to his malnourished state.

"Relax?! I send you on a _solo_-mission and then I find out that Starlight here decided to follow you. Aster, do you have any idea what would have happened had Christian not been there?! Black and Angus would have had the heir of the Liddell and Frost thrones in their grasp!"

"Geez, don't remind me, Anna." Aster replied, rolling his eyes in annoyance. He didn't see here problem. He had only gotten to Ruin to kill off the line that had caused the fall of most of the members of his family, with the exception of his mother, his aunt Elizabeth and his aunt Red, who had taken the throne at Alice's suggestion. What was so wrong with that?

"Honestly, I would've thought Alice would have placed some sense in you. Aster, you are a walking hurricane, do you realize that?" Anna asked the young male. She sighed. She was glad that her own son, Christian, wasn't this reckless when he had been sixteen. He was eighteen now, luckily surviving all of his dangerous missions. Then again, she and her husband Kristoff had raised Christian. Aster only had his mother. There had been no father figure in his life.

"Whatever. I don't like taking orders from the sister of the woman I intend to kill one day." Aster said, offhandedly. Indeed, Anna Arendelle was the disowned sister of Elsa Arendelle, wife of Jack Frost, his father. Even though Anna hadn't had contact with her family in eighteen years – being disowned when she married Kristoff and had Christian when she was going to marry Duke Hans from Ruin – Aster was a little pissed that she had the same blood as _that_ woman.

Just as he was leaving the room, a force caused him to stop moving. Great. He'd forgotten about Anna Arendelle's telekinetic powers. He yelled out as he was lifted and thrown against a wall that, by a miracle, did not break. Anna had stood up, glaring at Aster, daring him to repeat his previous statement.

"Your mother isn't going to be happy." Christian mumbled and Aster bit his lower lip, looking down. In that position, he looked as if he was an abused puppy awaiting punishment. The only way to make Aster look like this was if you mentioned his mother, one of the only people that Aster loved with all of his might.

"I know," He muttered softly. He didn't want to think about her disappointed face. His beautiful and lovely mother, the only person he cared about more than the world itself. She had started a new life with him, becoming Alice Alister. She had not married, for no man had wanted a woman who already had a child. The years had not been kind to his mother. That is why he wanted her to be happy. She deserved it more than anyone else.

She deserved happiness.

_**~~~Bittersweet Lullaby~~~**_

Moments later, Aster was outside of the school, wearing a brown wig to cover his bright white hair. He grumbled, "Ah, geez, this thing itches . . ."

A woman smiled kindly at him from her stall and called out to him, "Well, if it isn't Aster, son of Alice! Tell me, how's your mother? Last I heard, she was working as a maid in that Earl's mansion. What was that man's name again?"

"She's still working in Earl Wood's home. Thank you for asking, Miss Sakuzika. Your potion is almost done, too. Put it to good use; my Uncle Pitch has been working hard on it." He replied, giving the woman a nod. She smiled and waved at him goodbye. The woman was a customer of Pitch's potions shop. How the mad wizard had customers was beyond him; Pitch had accidents making his potions. Although, the end products were always at their best, no matter what.

Aster sighed as he thought about his mother's most recent undercover job in the home of Earl Wood. Ge didn't like the fact that his mother was so close to Enriel Wood. That man was obsessed with wanting to marry his mother, even agreeing to give Aster his inheritance if Alice went with him. Hn, he wasn't worthy enough of Alice Liddell, the deadly beauty of all the kingdoms.

Many men had fallen for his mother, Aster knew, but none were ever good enough by his standards. His mother was the true queen of Wonderland; no man could ever reach that standard. Then again, no man was ever good enough in the eyes of a child that had only known the love of a mother. The other type of love – the love of a father – was a concept Aster couldn't understand. He didn't long for it, as his mother had provided enough love for him.

There were also men and women wishing to marry their daughters off to Aster. Of course, Alice wasn't going to marry him to someone he did not love, especially someone who wasn't worthy of her son. Indeed, both mother and son had high expectations for people.

"Aster!" A girl's voice brought him back to reality. He looked up to see a twelve year old girl heading his way. The girl was dressed in a uniform similar to his, except she was wearing a black skirt, along with long white socks that covered most of her legs. She was wearing simple brown shoes, making her look awfully innocent. She had her light brown hair with green highlights in twin ponytails and emerald green eyes. On one of her hands, she carried a brown school bag. She was five feet and had received the nickname 'Sweets' in their team.

"Aria." Aster replied as she reached him.

She grinned widely at him, revealing white teeth with a piece of beef stuck between her two front teeth. Despite her beauty and charm, the young girl had her flaws. She attempted to give Aster a stern look but failed, "I heard from Christian what happened. Aster, you shouldn't have done that! You're gonna give your mother a heart attack if you continue doing that."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." He replied as he focused on the Academy, thinking about his friends who were still inside, "They let out early, huh? What are the others doing right now? Don't tell me that Rowan opened her big mouth and they landed her in detention again."

Something hard hit Aster in the back of his head and he gave out a yelp of pain. He rubbed it and immediately knew where it had come from. Only one person hit that hard and the name of that person was engraved into his memory. Someone behind him huffed, "Well excuse me, Aster, but that is not why we took long coming here! I'm offended that you would think that!"

"Hey, Rowan. Your backpack is as hard as ever. Planning on taking on the Winterian army with it? It's a better weapon that what you have." Aster jokingly told his friend. He had practically grown up with the older girl and his other friends, all of them living together for some time under the home of Anna and Kristoff before his mother had found a home for them.

"Laugh it up, Starlight. At least I wasn't thrown into the wall because of Lady Anna's telekinesis and won't have to suffer the disappointment of your Lady Mother." She replied. Rowan was wearing a uniform similar to Aria's. She was a seventeen year old girl with flaming red hair with golden highlights that reached up to her shoulders, having been cut in a mission, and her eyes were amethyst, giving her the nickname 'Gem' in their assassin team Shadowed Death. She was also five feet seven, towering over Aster by an inch, a fact he hated to admit.

"I'd hit you right now if you weren't a girl, if you weren't my friend and if you weren't Arwyn's girlfriend," Aster told her honestly. He looked towards Arwyn, Rowan's boyfriend. He had met both him, Rowan, Sariya, Rayne, Zayden, Christian and Aria when they had been children, seeing them as nothing more than siblings.

Because of that fact, Aster always feared Arwyn.

Arwyn was seventeen years old and also wore the Academy's male uniform. His hair was black with light blue-green eyes and tan skin, having been in a yearlong mission in Corona that he had not recovered from. He was five feet ten, an inch taller than Christian, and four inches taller than Aster, who found that unfair. He had the nickname 'Giant' because of his height.

The final members of the team were Sariya, Rayne and Zayden, all of which were there at the moment as well. They were all wearing the Academy uniform and were great friends and almost family to Aster. The only person missing from their team at the moment was 'Ice': Christian.

Zayden was the eldest at the age of eighteen, two months older than Christian. He was eighteen years old, had curly blonde hair with light blue streaks and golden eyes. He was five feet nine, an inch shorter than Arwyn, who, they all joked, came from a lineage of giants and that was the reason why he was still growing. He wore glasses over his eyes that had given him the nickname 'Gold'.

Sariya and Rayne were twins, both fifteen years old. Rayne had light green hair with pink highlights and pink eyes while Sariya had pink hair with light green highlights and green eyes. They were both five feet five, an inch shorter than Aster, but, despite their height, were very competent fighters. Sariya's nickname was 'Hope' and Rayne's was 'Emerald'.

Giant, Gem, Gold, Hope, Emerald, Sweets, Ice and Starlight. The assassins were all part of the group Shadowed Death, the most requested assassination team in all the kingdoms. Ironically, their bounty cost more than what the people paid them for in missions.

"What are you doing now, Aster?" Zayden asked, pushing his glasses back. Aster raised an eyebrow and nodded towards the Academy. They turned to see that they were letting out the regular students who had yet to ascend into the ranks of assassins. Among them was a pair of twins – one boy and one girl – with dark blue, almost purple, hair and green eyes. They stood out because of the black cat ears on top of their ears and a dark blue tail with black designs. They seemed to be around ten years old, two years younger than the youngest assassin in their group.

"Ethan! Calen!" Aster hollered and the cat-like children turned to him. They grinned, a smile longer than what was possible. The girl jumped towards him and vanished, the boy doing the same. Aster groaned. Here we go again.

"Aster-nii!"

Aster felt two small bodies crash into his chest and he gave out a weak 'oof' in response. He looked down to see eyes identical to his own look up at him, being accompanied by a large grin. He patted their heads, "Hey there, kittens. Ready to go home yet?"

The girl, Calen, nodded, "Yes we are, Aster-nii! Let's just wait for Christian, Miss Anna and Mister Kristoff! Then we'll be with Mommy and Daddy! Daddy's gonna teach us how to fly today! He wants to also teach us how to make neat potions and-."

"Hold your horses, Calen," Aster told her, carrying the cat-hybrid in his arms, "We gotta get home first." She gave out a nod and a small pair of arms wrapped themselves around his neck as she hugged him. He felt Ethan cry out that it was unfair that he wasn't being carried like his sister was and he shook his head.

"There you are." Anna's voice interrupted Aster's train of thought. He looked up to see her, Christian and Kristoff. Kristoff was a rugged, thirty-seven year old man with broad shoulders and a muscular build. He had blond hair that was almost golden, light brown hair, fair skin with a few freckles across his nose that was rather big. Christian had inherited his hair color, height and some of his muscular build, inheriting most of the other traits from his mother.

"Are we ready to go?" Aster asked, crouching down so he could also carry Ethan. The boy happily squealed while Calen pouted, wanting to be the only one carried. Aster caught Christian's gaze and rolled his eyes as if annoyed. Christian smiled at that gesture. He knew Aster could never get annoyed by the fur balls.

The twin half-breeds shared a look upon seeing the interaction of the two males and Calen frowned. She was not losing her favorite, and only, cousin. She nuzzled Aster's neck and Ethan purred, playing along with his sister so they could keep their cousin and not lose him to anyone that wanted to marry him. They were just kids but they could see the way other people saw Aster.

"Okay, kids, don't be so clingy or I'm dropping you," Aster joked. The group began to move towards their home near the border of Winteria, where the most important people of his life lived.

_**~~~Bittersweet Lullaby~~~**_

_Meanwhile, in Winteria Castle_

"Where is the Lady Princess? Dear me, she's late for her lessons again!" A maid cried out, running around in search of Aerith Frost, the second daughter of Jack Frost and Elsa Arendelle. The small girl was only eight years old but she was as mischievous as her father had been when he had been a child.

The maid ran past a sixteen year old girl with pale white hair and turquoise eyes. The girl blinked, edging away from the running maid, tilting her head. Her hair was loose but it was adorned with a simple golden tiara with sapphires engraved in it. She wore an off-the-shoulder light blue dress with sleeves that reached up to her elbows and her dress covered her feet. She had a tall, slender build, a small nose, very pale skin with a light dusting of freckles. She seemed to be around five feet eight, being taller than some girls here age. This was none other than Princess Elle Frost, the firstborn daughter of Jack Frost and Elsa Arendelle.

"Seems Aerith ran away from her lessons again." Elle thought and giggled. It was a common occurrence for the princess to run from her lessons and it took the maids of castle hours to find her. Truly, they had begun to curse the day the girl had learned how to walk. She shook her head, "Mother and Father will get Aeri for this."

"No they won't~." A small voice said from behind a large vase. Elle sighed and lifted it with her telekinesis. Hiding behind it was a young girl with white hair that was almost silver and blue eyes. She was wearing a short-sleeved white dress that reached up to her ankles with a light gray bow in front. She was barefooted and her hair in twin braids that were placed in front of her face. She was small, around three feet eleven (almost four feet), with a slender build, a small hose and very pale skin. She only wore a golden circlet around her head.

"Aeri, what are you doing?" Elle asked and the little girl stood, wiping dust of her dress. Elle knew the younger was just stalling for time and it slightly annoyed her.

"I don't wanna do the lessons, Elle. They're boooring!" Aerith replied, stretching out the o. Elle rolled her eyes at her younger sister's antics. She was more like her mother in several ways, according to several servants, while Aerith had inherited most of their father's wild spirit.

"Honestly, I pray for the man that will be your husband. You're untamable!" Elle told her and Aerith pouted, raising an eyebrow at that. Elle was quite the opposite, being demure and graceful. What kind of a prince would want to marry a tomboyish, tough princess?

"Flattering your sister again?" A voice interrupted them.

Aerith grinned widely as she saw who the owner of the voice was, rushing to hug the man and woman who were watching them. Elle, who was more mature than her sister and older, smiled kindly, "Hello, Father, Mother."

Jack Frost was a thirty-five year old man with the looks of a young man in his mid-twenties. He had white hair that looked like freshly fallen snow, striking blue eyes and pale skin. He was tall and slim, similar to his daughters. It was obvious where his daughters had gotten their white hair from, although only Aerith had inherited his eye color, Elle having the eye color of her mother.

Elsa Arendelle was a thirty-five year old woman who, like her husband, looked younger than her actual age. Like her husband and daughters, Elsa had a tall, slender build with long, platinum-blonde hair, blue eyes, a small nose and very pale skin with a light dusting of freckles. Indeed, Elsa and her daughter looked very much alike.

In the arms of the Queen of Arendelle and Winteria was the newest addition to the Frost family: Sophie Frost. The baby girl was asleep, covered in a white blanket. Wisps of platinum blonde hair were visible, meaning the baby would inherit Elsa's hair color rather than Jack's.

"Aerith, why did you run from your lessons again?" Elsa asked as Aerith hid behind her father's leg, giggling. She didn't seem to regret running away from her responsibilities.

"Cause they're boooooring!" She responded, "I wanted to practice making snow! I froze my room and it's so cool!" She erupted into a fit of giggles.

"Aerith!" Elsa told her sternly, "You're not supposed to freeze your rooms or even start using your powers! It's very dangerous, especially because you can't control them yet!" She thought back to her own childhood, remembering when she had nearly killed her sister Anna . . .

Anna. Since she was disowned by their parents for marrying that man (was his name Kristoff?) and having his son, Elsa hadn't heard of her. She had completely dropped off the face of the planet. It was a shame, considering Elsa missed seeing her. She had a nephew she had never even seen. Hell, she didn't even know his name. It really hurt her not knowing where her sister was at.

"Come on, Elsa," Jack smiled, "I learned how to control my powers by playing around. I'm certain Aerith can learn to do the same." It was true. Jack had been a natural when he had learned he had ice powers. Unlike Elsa, who struggled when she first discovered them, Jack had managed to control them with ease. He had even created snow during the summer. Of course, he had only done it for _her_.

Alice Liddell. The woman still had a place in Jack's heart. No one, not even Elsa, seemed to fill the place Alice had had when she had been alive. Even in death, he still loved her deeply. He would always remember her, even in his death bed. She had sparked an emotion deep within him and it had never been quenched. Even now, he wondered how things would've worked out if she hadn't died. Would they have kids? If so, how many? It was pointless to think about it yet he always did. No matter how heart-breaking it was for him to relive those special moments with Alice, he continued to remember them. He treasured them and, if someone were to take them away, he'd feel like an empty shell.

"But-."

"But nothing, Elsa," Jack told his wife. He had told Elsa about Alice and she seemed to understand that she'd always be second when it came to his heart. That's why Jack cared deeply for her; Elsa understood that he would always love Alice, the girl who had stolen his heart and had never given it back.

Elle chuckled, "Sorry, Mother, but Father's tactics seem to work fine with Aerith. I think Sophie and I will be the other only ones taking your method of learning how to use our abilities."

Elsa sighed and, suddenly, a dash of green crashed into Elle, who squeaked and fell to the ground. Aerith burst into giggles and Elsa and Jack turned to face the collision, both of them worrying about their youngest daughter.

The girl who had crashed into Elle had light green hair, violet colored eyes and tan skin. She was wearing a dark green dress with violet trimmings. The dress had short sleeves but it covered most of her legs. She had golden bracelets on her wrists and golden earrings, giving her a slight exotic look. She seemed to be around fifteen years of age, a year younger than Elle, and stood at five feet six.

Elle blinked, recognizing the other royal that had been running – undignified of a lady, Elle noted – in a rather fast manner, "Eh? Rosine?" Rosine Faieri was Elle's best friend and only true friend among the children of the court.

Rosine sat up and her hair shot upwards comically upon seeing who she had crashed into, "Gah! Lady Princess Elle! I'm so sorry for that! I wasn't looking! I was just so excited to inform your parents-."

"What is it, Rosine?" Jack asked the eccentric daughter of his close friend Toothiana Faieri, duchess of a small fief in Winteria. The girl was very similar to her mother, although no one would ever tell her that.

She stood, helping Elle get on her feet. She smiled, practically flying in her excitement, "Queen Merida and her children Princess Artemis and Prince Drew have arrived! Not to mention so had Queen Rapunzel and King Flynn, along with their daughter Princess Lilly. Queen Red from Wonderland has not responded to our call but King Bumby and his son Prince Black will come too! Oh, if only King Hiccup would come! Then all the royals would be together in one place!"

"They're here already?" Elsa asked, "Are the preparations complete? What about the guards? Have they been posted? Have the other nobles been informed? Did I get everyone? What about-?"

"Relax!" Jack grabbed her from her shoulders, smiling at how much of a neat-freak/control-freak his queen was, "Loosen up, Elsa! Bunnymund is the head of security so no one will get past him. Tooth has taken care of preparations and I double-checked to see if you missed anyone. Relax!"

"How can Mother relax?" Elle inputted, "It's the first birthday of Sophie and it's the Festival of the Suitors! It's extremely important because we're the hosts this year! Everything has to be-."

_**~~~Bittersweet Lullaby~~~**_

"Perfect!" Aster shouted as he ran, a stampede of cats chasing after him, all of them mewling in happiness. He jumped over a huge boulder, "This is why I don't carry catnip unless it's absolutely necessary!"

Close by, lifted in the air by the power of Anna and Christian's telekinetic powers, Christian chuckled, rolling his eyes at the display. Rowan and Aria were in hysterics, Sariya and Rayne watched worriedly, Zayden and Arwyn were watching with serious expressions, Anna and Kristoff looked sorry for him and Ethan and Calen were among the cats chasing after Aster.

"Why don't you just fly?" Rowan asked between giggles.

Aster pulled out the catnip from his pockets, "Or I can do this!" He threw the catnip far away and all the cats began to chase after it. Ethan and Calen were about to follow when Aster grabbed them from their tails, "You two are not allowed to be under the influence of catnip!"

"But it smells so good, Aster-nii!" Ethan complained.

Slowly, the others dropped from the sky. Christian nudged Aster, a grin present of his face, "I think that's going to be the only time when females will be chasing after you, Starlight."

"Shut up," Aster replied, pushing him. He looked at what was waiting for him and his eyes softened, "We're home."

Far from the city border was the house Aster had grown up to see as his home. It was a simple two story home made out of bricks and painted gray. There was a small garden in front and the home even had a porch. This was his home, the place his mother raised him when he was four. Before that . . . Aster would rather not talk about it.

"Daddy!" Calen yelled.

Standing in front of one of the three buildings was a young man with blue hair with black highlights and yellow eyes. He had ivory skin, ears on top of his head and a blue tail with black designs. He was wearing a black sweater, black trousers and he was barefoot. This was the odd feline wizard Cheshire, who Aster had grown up to see as his uncle. When he was six . . . he literally became his uncle.

"You're home!" His aunt, Elizabeth, cheerfully cried out from the house. She was a beautiful thirty-seven year old woman with a healthy complexion, although she was paler than a typical human. Her eyes were brilliant green and had wavy dark hair with a red tinge to it. She was wearing a white gown and had her hair up in a bun, showing that she had been tending to the house.

"Mommy!" Ethan yelled and both half-breeds ran to their parents, who greeted them with hugs. It had been odd thing when Princess Elizabeth Liddell had married the wizard Cheshire and had twin half-human half-feline children, but it had been something normal to Aster as he had grown up. Compared to the rest of the world, this was as normal as it got.

He looked away from the normal family setting, feeling a small ache in his heart. He had always longed for a father, something he had never told anyone. He loved his mother to death but that didn't stop him from imagining moments like the scene currently taking place.

Aster headed to the house, opening the door and closing it. He looked at the small house they lived in and called out, "Mother, I'm home!"

Silence. She was probably still working in the manor. Aster sighed and started walking towards the kitchen. This meant he was cooking dinner. That or he was going to eat with either his aunt or with Anna and Kristoff. If he was lucky, there was food in the pantry for him to at least make himself a sandwich.

Aster took off the brown wig, unleashing his white hair, "Glad that's off me."

"What, do you not like it? I can dye it black next time." A voice interjected from the living room. Aster's face broke into a grin as he dashed to the living room. Yes! His mother was in the house!

"Mother!"

Alice looked up from the letter she had been reading and gave her only son a soft smile. She was an attractive thirty-five year old woman with the looks of a twenty year old. Like her son, she had a no blemishes or freckles on her pale face. However, she also showed signs of malnutrition with her gaunt frame. Her eyes were brilliant green and had dark hair with a red tinge to it. She was wearing a simple gray dress that cut to mid-leg, a simple white apron over her dress with black-and-white stockings underneath.

"Aster, you're home already." She said and Aster sat down by her side in the couch. He gave her a smile and then a hug, Alice returning it. Surprisingly, Aster was only this happy when he was with his beloved mother. If one were to see this scene, they wouldn't imagine Aster as a cold-hearted assassin or Alice as a dangerous killer. They'd think this is just a normal mother and son. When they were with others, both of them constructed a barrier to hide their true selves. When they were with each other, they dropped those barriers and allowed themselves to be happy.

Aster broke away from the hug but he was still leaning towards Alice, "Yeah. I'm gonna have to go to work later on but it's no big deal. I'm going to be working at the bar table today. That'll help because I'm not in the mood for dancing, singing or trying to keep cool with all those drunken men."

Alice shook her head, "Why you work in a night club is beyond me. You're not even eighteen yet." She hated Aster's workplace, but they both knew that they needed the extra money he got when he worked there. If they didn't pay the taxes, they'd get kicked out of their home. Alice still remembered when she had come close to not paying them, and she knew that Aster hadn't forgotten either.

"I think you're a little too late to pamper on that kind of stuff, Mother," Aster teased and Alice swatted his arm playfully. The nightclub Aster worked in was notorious for the business made in it – slave auctions, drug dealers, etc. – and for the activities that took place during it. Alice was really glad Aster could protect himself. Otherwise, he would've been raped, kidnapped or sold off.

"Hush your mouth. Is it truly my fault that I've heard that your feminine face would cost a fortune in the slave auctions? Or that I've heard several men want you in their beds? What am I to do?"

Aster pretended to think about it, "First off, pity the man or woman who sells me. They've tried to do it in the past but no one has been able to tame me. And for the perverted men who want to sleep with me. . . I'll just castrate them!" He shot his mother a grin, causing her to roll her eyes in annoyance. He gave her a serious look, "Although, I'm wondering . . .who in the hell told you about all that?"

"The maids in the earl's manor are extremely talkative. It frightens me to know how much they've heard. They say they'd buy you if you were on auction. As for the men . . . I've heard it from the people in the city as I'm getting home." Alice curtly replied and Aster raised an eyebrow at her words.

"Here I thought most people in the city wanted me in the asylum." Aster replied, matching his mother's tone. Alice shot him a mild glare for copying her tone, and he raised his hands up in mock surrender. He then said, in a somewhat joking tone, "Well, whatever turns a person on-."

"Aster!"

"Kidding!"

Alice sighed, shaking her head, "You're going to be the death of me, Aster Nikolas Liddell." She held her child, combing her fingers through his pale hair. He closed his eyes, smiling at her words. She knew that he knew a lot more about stuff than the average sixteen year old, especially on those types of matters.

"Aww, you know you love me, Mother," Aster chuckled and Alice huffed, pretending to be angry at him. Despite doing this sort of thing, neither had gotten in an argument. Hell, they haven't even had a fight, despite Aster being in the rebellious stage. Aster moved away from her embrace, their brilliant eyes they both shared clashing. He smiled, "But guess what?"

Alice asked, raising an eyebrow to humor her son, "Hm?"

Aster gave her a peck in the cheek and another hug, resting his head on the crook of her neck. Alice smiled and wrapped her arms around her beloved child, causing him to smile. He was way too old to be doing these kinds of things but, for his mother that he loved more than life itself? He'd rather be a kid for a while longer, just to do this, "I love you more."

Alice chuckled, planting a kiss on his forehead, "I love you more than you'll ever love me, my dear son." Her son, her treasure, her greatest achievement. He was the reason she strived for a better life.

"Maybe that's true . . ." Aster replied, sounding as if he was dozing off, "but I love you, Mom. If you were to die or leave me . . . I'd be so lost. I wouldn't know where to go or what to do."

"Shhh," Alice silenced him, combing her fingers through Aster's pale hair. Aster closed his eyes, sighing in contentment. Alice began to hum and Aster's eyes weakly opened, humming alongside her. If someone were to hear the sound, they'd think that angels were singing from the heavens. Of course, that was not the case. Alice began to sing:

"_Hush, child_

_The darkness shall rise from the deep_

_And carry you down into sleep_

_Child, the darkness will rise from the deep_

_And carry you down into sleep."_

When Alice had first sung it to Aster ten years ago, the child would constantly ask her to sing it to her, calling it 'Mommy's Song'. Her sweet little Aster, who had no idea what the lyrics of the meant. Her sweet little Aster, who would ask her why she sounded so sad when she sung.

"_Guileless son,_

_I'll shape your belief_

_And you'll always know that your father's a thief_

_And you won't understand the cause of your grief_

_But you'll always follow the voices beneath."_

"Daddy was a thief, Mommy?" Aster had asked once, after she had finished the song. His eyes had been so innocent then. They had lost that shine over the years.

Alice had ruffled his hair and smiled, replying, "Yes, my bright little star. Your daddy was the most notorious thief in the world. He stole my most precious possession and still haven't given it back."

When he had asked what he had stolen, Alice had given him a small peck on the forehead, cradling her child who stared at her with those beautiful and innocent eyes, "My heart. But it's okay. I have something of his too. And I'm never sharing it with him."

"Really, Mommy? What is it?"

She loved hearing his voice. Aster was all that she had that she would never give up willingly. She had rubbed their noses together, causing Aster to giggle sweetly. He had been so sweet and innocent, "You. You are my most treasure possession that I won't share with him."

"_Guileless son,_

_Your spirit will hate her_

_The flower who married my brother the traitor_

_And you will expose his puppeteer behavior_

_For you are the proof of how he betrayed her loyalty."_

As the years had gone on, Aster had begun to resent Queen Elsa. When he had been eight, he had cried out that he hated her with all his heart. Alice had held him as he sobbed before asking him why he had said that. He had looked her in the eyes and replied, "Because she has the person you and I want, Mommy."

"_Hush, child_

_The darkness shall rise from the deep_

_And carry you down into sleep_

_Child, the darkness will rise from the deep_

_And carry you down into sleep."_

He was no longer innocent. He wasn't that six year old boy who gazed at the wonder of the world or stared at awe at the amazing things his mother could do. He was a cold and hard person, hiding within himself to protect his heart. It hurt her to see her son going through the same path as hers.

"_Guileless son,_

_Each day you grow older_

_Each moment I'm watching my vengeance unfold_

_You're the child of my body,_

_The flesh of my soul_

_Will die and returning the birthright he stole."_

Aster was sixteen now. It seemed like only yesterday when Alice had gazed at her swollen belly, glaring at it, knowing what lived inside of her. It was true; Alice had hated her own baby and had wanted 'that thing' out of her. When that day came, Alice's heart had melted. Upon seeing her son, she had fallen in love with the child. The heir of the Frost and Liddell throne, the prince of Wonderland and her beautiful angel. She had even hated herself for even once thinking about killing the child.

"_Hush, child_

_The darkness shall rise from the deep_

_And carry you down into sleep_

_Child, the darkness will rise from the deep_

_And carry you down into sleep."_

Alice stopped singing, the song coming to a close. She looked down to see Aster was asleep, his breathing even and normal. In this position, Alice could see her son before he had been hardened by all the negative emotions. She held him in her arms, cradling the child she loved so much.

"I wished for a better life for you, my starlight," Alice whispered to her sleeping child, "I truly did. I'm sorry for the life I gave you. I hope you can forgive me for it. All a mother wants is happiness for their child."

_**~~~Bittersweet Lullaby~~~**_

**Anime: Did anyone enjoy that? Eh? Eh?**

**Jack: *carrying Aerith* I make one hell of a father.**

**Elle: Yes you do! *hugs him***

**Aster: *death glare* I'm going to kill you in your sleep.**

**Alice: That's my son.**

**Haou: Major improvement on Anna.**

**Anime: I had to make her character. No offense to anyone who likes her character but I saw her as a rather weak character in Frozen. Seriously, why do we women have to look so pathetic in a Disney movie? That's why I like Brave, Mulan, American McGee's Alice, etc. You know: Girls that don't need no man to make them strong. I was going to kill her off but . . .**

***heated gaze from Demon, currently in the Inuyasha fandom***

**Anime: *coughs* I . . . uh . . . was sorta guilt-tripped on not to kill her. Now she's the headmaster of a secret assassin school with powers. Also, sadly, I'm not gonna make Elsa suffer. I'm under contract. *swears in Spanish* Curse Demon and her contracts. However, I will make Alice and Jack end up together.**

**Christian: How are you doing that?**

**Anime: I'm still thinking about it. I could kill Elsa-**

***another death glare emanating from Demon***

**Anime: Okay! Okay, I won't kill her! **

**Aster: Doesn't mean I won't.**

**Anime: I also didn't put much Ice Tea here because I want to introduce you to the plot, the characters, their relationships with each other and the setting. Hmm. A party where all the royalty is going to attend. Smells like something good will be cooking. Another thing I wanted to show was how our lovely characters (Jack, Elsa, Elizabeth, Cheshire, Alice and Anna) are like as adults with kids of their own. Not to mention I wanted to show the mother-son bond of Alice and Aster. It was one of my favorite parts to write. I like family moments and I think the bond between mother and child is the greatest gift of a woman. **

**Cheshire: Anyone know the shipping name of Elizabeth with myself?**

**Black Ruins: Forgetting something?**

**Anime: Oh! Right! Now, readers, I need your help! I've been contemplating this ever since the idea of Bittersweet Lullaby came into my mind and I need your help to resolve this!**

**Jack: And that is . . .?**

**Anime: Why, who to pair the lovely Aster with! **

**All: -_-**

**Alice: . . . That's what's kept you up at night?**

**Anime: Yes! I have six possible shippings with him: Forcedshipping, Frostshipping, Kissedshipping, Flowershipping, Stealthshipping and Huntshipping.**

**Jaden: Aaaand you named all of them. . .**

**Haou: Now she won't get rid of them.**

**Anime: Forcedshipping (Aster x Black Ruins), Kissedshipping (Aster x Drew) and Stealthshipping (Aster x Christian) are all yaoi or boy x boy. Out of those three, Ship, Hood and myself choose Stealthshipping. The other three are straight pairings and are: Frostshipping (Aster x Elle), Flowershipping (Aster x Lilly) and Huntshipping (Aster x Artemis).**

**Aster: Do I have to be paired off with so many characters?**

**Christian: I'm surprised that you actually ask her that type of question, Aster. I mean, you've been hear longer than I have.**

**Alice: Read and review. **

**Jehu: If you do, we'll give you a new chapter and we'll even torture Bumby!**

**Bumby: I'm an important character here, Jehu Anderson. What are you doing here? What is your role? You're not even in your own fandom.**

**Jehu: I'm the torturer; my role is to torture you half to death. If you review, I'll chop off his arms! That'll make him more pleasant to the eyes.**

**Anime: Do it.**

**Aster: If anyone does bother to read the A/Ns, thank you all for your support in Frozen Butterfly Wings and for standing these odd ravings. You guys are the best kind of people out there and we dedicate this story for all of you. We hope we make this enjoyable. **

**All: Until next time!**

**Demigodanimewarrior a.k.a Anime, Ruler of the Gentle Darkness, signing off!**


	2. Chapter 2: Lost In Thoughts All Alone

**Title: Bittersweet Lullaby**

**Rating: T+**

**Pairings: Jack x Alice, Jack x Elsa (*dies in a corner*), Anna x Kristoff, Elizabeth x Cheshire, Pitch x Red Queen, Rowan x Arwyn (OC Pairing), Rapunzel x Flynn, onesided!Black x Aster**

**Warnings: OOCness, OCs, rantings from a mad author, implying sexual content, grammatical errors, no beta and Jelsa **

**Disclaimer: Anime does not own American McGee's Alice, Rise of the Guardians, Tangled, Frozen, Brave or How to Train Your Dragon. She owns the OCs and her versions of humanoid!Cheshire, humanoid!Baby Tooth, humanoid!Bunny and humanoid!Tooth. **

**Anime: Kill me if it pleases you. It has been a whole year since I updated this story. I'm so sorry but I got a writer's block with this story and lost my train of inspiration for this story. It's not abandoned, mind you. So . . . sorry. And this chapter isn't that great.**

_**~~~Bittersweet Lullaby~~~**_

**2: Lost in Thoughts All Alone**

Alice had just gotten her sleeping son in bed when she heard knocking on the door. Knowing who was at the door, Alice gave Aster a small kiss on his forehead before going downstairs quickly. She hadn't expected her cousin to come so quickly after having sending her letter.

She opened the door and smiled, greeting the two people standing by her door, "Red, Sephtis. It is a pleasure to see you both again."

Red Liddell was a petite woman that looked almost identical to Alice and Elizabeth, except she was paler than both. She was wearing a red and black dress that showed she was of royal descent. She wore red gloves and had no crown on her head, obviously trying to hide that the Queen of Wonderland was currently residing in the slums of Winteria. She bowed her head politely at Alice, "It has been a long time since we last saw you, Alice."

Alice gestured for the two companions to enter the house and patted the young male that was accompanying Red, "You haven't said a word, Sephtis. Is there something wrong?" Alice didn't know her nephew as well as she knew Calen and Ethan as he had been raised in Wonderland Castle. She occasionally saw him when he came to see Aster but, on those days, Anna would send her out on missions. Her contact with her nephew was very limited, to say the least.

The male was fourteen years old, had midnight-black hair and dull pale-gray skin. His right eye was silver-golden yellow that resembled an eclipse while his left eye was brilliant green like his mother's. He was five feet five and wore long, black robe with long sleeves and a V-neck line.

"Not at all, Aunt Alice," Sephtis replied as he bowed at her. His voice was cold, refined and showed the power he held but also his youth. It reminded Alice a little of how Aster's voice sounded when he had been fourteen. As he grew older, his voice became more refined and colder and the hint of youth he had was gone. He sounded like a noble.

"Now, I believe we have business to attend to." Alice looked outside to see that Elizabeth, Cheshire, Ethan and Calen were on their way.

She smiled sadly when she saw the two hybrids cling to Elizabeth's dress, making her sister fuss over their manners while her husband laughed, his wide grin unnatural but contagious as Elizabeth also began to smile. Alice looked away, not being able to handle the family setting playing in front of her.

How much had she wished for her and Jack to be parents; to have loving children that they'd spoil and love? Although she did bear Jack's child – her wonderful son that she treasured above anything else – she didn't get to spoil her son, training him to kill and learn things most children shouldn't learn. She didn't get to shower him with affection, although she did make it a priority to show him love. Worst of all, Jack hadn't been by her side as she raised Aster.

Alice knew she was being selfish and bitter for wanting to kill Jack, Elsa and their three daughters. She should've forgotten about them and lived her days caring for Aster. But she was bitter and hated that the man she loved was with another woman and that he had spoiled those three daughters but not their son. If she was a better person, she could've found it in her heart to forgive. But the Liddell family was known for holding grudges. Alice was no exception to this rule.

"Indeed we do." Red agreed as she sat down on one of the chairs surrounding the dining table. Alice took a seat next to her and her son followed suit, his face devoid of any emotion. Alice noticed, however, that he kept looking up at the ceiling as if he was waiting for someone to come down. Alice knew exactly who Sephtis wanted to see come down those stairs.

"He's asleep. I think he needed it." Alice replied and Sephtis jumped in surprise. He smiled sheepishly when he realized what Alice was talking about. Red gave her son a smirk. No one could hide anything from the perceptive gaze of the true Queen of Wonderland.

"I see. Is he still working at that awful club?" Sephtis asked, looking annoyed. Alice felt the same way her nephew did. She hated that club that Aster worked for but she knew why he worked there. Besides the fact that he gained good money, he could kill the lowlifes that society didn't acknowledge. Not only that, but he had good informants that went there. Still, that didn't mean she liked that her only son was in such a disgusting place.

"Unfortunately so, Sephtis." Alice said as there was a soft knock on the door. She opened it and nodded at her sister, her brother-in-law, her niece and her nephew. The two hybrids hugged her, laughing. Alice had been told by her older sister that the twins enjoyed being in this house because they adored Alice and Aster. The raven haired female wasn't sure why these two furballs adored two master assassins.

"Auntie Alice, where's Aster?" Calen asked as Ethan floated towards Sephtis, annoying the older brother because the feline had made his whole body but his head disappear and was taunting him.

"Asleep. Is Anna coming?" The last part was directed to the mother of the twins.

Elizabeth nodded, yanking on the air. Considering that Ethan yelped, the queen of Wonderland knew that her sister had somehow yanked Ethan's tail. Ethan pouted, making his whole body appear, but Elizabeth ignored him to speak with her sister, "She and Kristoff are coming here with Christian, Sienna, North and Pitch." Alice wasn't going to tell Elizabeth that the name 'Pitch' had caused Red to turn towards them.

"What's going on, anyways?" Cheshire asked as he appeared next to Alice. After living with the odd feline wizard for nearly a decade, Alice didn't jump when he did that. Cheshire had been upset when Alice had told him that. Apparently, he liked the fact that he could make the formidable assassin jump in fright.

"An opportunity had surfaced. We finally have a chance to bring down Jack and Elsa, along with the rest of the nobles."

_**~~~Bittersweet Lullaby~~~**_

_It was a snowy day as Aster walked alone in the forest at night. He couldn't have been older than four when he had gotten lost. He was sobbing, trying in vain to look for his mother. Where had she gone? Why had the snow erased her footprints on the ground? "Stupid snow." Aster hiccupped, searching for his mother._

_Why didn't she stay with him with Mother Gothel? Why did she always leave the tower, leaving him alone with that mean witch? Mother Gothel said that his mother always left him in the tower because she hated him. Apparently, she was mad with his father and Aster reminded her of him._

"_Mommy," Aster shivered as he looked around. It was cold and it was dark. Even if he was more mature than most kids his age, Aster was still afraid. He hiccupped, wiping at his eyes, and continued looking for his mother. She had to be around here, if she always visited him and the witch in the tower._

_The witch must have found out that he had left by now. She must be mad at him. She didn't like children that left her tower, his mother had told him. Was she looking for him? Had she told his mother? The wind got stronger and Aster gave out a small squeak, holding onto the tree nearby. How was it snowing? It wasn't even winter yet! It was the middle of summer!_

_Aster huffed, continuing to walk. This snow was nothing. He was going to find his mother and that was final. Nothing was going to stop him. . . Who was that man? Aster stopped walking and turned around to see a man crouching down in front of a tree. He looked like he was crying. Aster hid behind a tree, in case it was one of those bad men that the witch and his mother had told him about. _

_Aster winced when he stepped on a twig, causing the man to turn to look at him. Aster gave out a small gasp and hid behind the tree. A voice called out, "Who's there?" The voice sounded nice, Aster's mind concluded as he stopped hiding from behind the tree so that the man could see him. _

_The young man in front of him had white hair that looked just like his but he had striking blue eyes that looked as pretty as his mother's eyes. He was wearing a black cloak that hid his clothes and reminded Aster of the cloaks his mother and the witch owned. Was he a witch?_

"_It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." The young man said. Aster looked up to see that the snow had stopped falling. The young man chuckled, causing Aster to look back at him, surprised at how carefree he sounded when he had been crying earlier. "Sorry about that," He told him, "I don't have full control of my powers when I'm upset."_

"_You can make snow too?" Aster asked innocently. _

_The young man nodded, "Yes. My name is Jack. What's yours?"_

"_Aster."_

_Jack stood up and smiled at the small little boy, "Suits you, Aster. It is a fine name to bear. Did your mother give it to you or was it your father?" Jack had a nice smile and Aster didn't spot any pointy teeth. That meant that he wasn't one of the bad men that the witch told him about. _

"_Mommy gave it to me. I don't have a Daddy." Aster replied, putting his hands inside his pockets. Well, he was sure that he had a father because the witch talked about him but his mother had told him many times that he had no father. _

_Jack's eyes flickered sadly, "I see. Anyways, Aster, what do you mean by that?"_

"_By what?" He asked, cocking his head to the side in question._

"_You said 'you can make snow too'. Too? Do you know someone else that can make snow?" Jack asked, staring at the child in what was disbelief. The child didn't understand the weird look on the adult's face so he nodded. An innocent naïve child, who didn't understand that only the members of the royal families of Winteria and Arendelle or spellcasters could make snow._

_Aster nodded and he grinned widely as Jack watched, in awe, as ice formed next to Aster, taking the shape of what appeared to be a woman playing a flute. Jack turned to the child, eyes wide. The poor innocent child had no idea that he had done something no ordinary child could do, so he smiled brightly, glad that he could show his magic to someone other than the witch or his mother._

"_Aster, how did you do this?" Jack whispered._

_Just as the little boy was about to respond, a woman in a black cape appeared, looking frantic. When she saw the little boy, she cried out, "Aster!" Aster froze and turned around, coming face to face with Mother Gothel. She groaned, picking him up, "I told you not to-."_

"_What's going on?" Jack asked and Mother Gothel froze. She hid the small child from the eyes of the man Alice hated, the man who was the father of this innocent and naïve child._

"_I'm just taking my son home. He got lost." She replied. She began to walk away with the child in her arms, wanting nothing more than to get away from this man._

"_Bye, bye, Jack!" Aster cheerfully called out. He was unaware why the witch had looked upset by seeing the young man and why the young man had looked so surprised when he had made snow. Honestly, he giggled, adults were weird. _

_**~~~Bittersweet Lullaby~~~**_

Aster woke up to the incessant shakes of someone, making him leave that dream that had been a memory of his childhood that he thought he had forgotten. He sat up in his bed – his mother must have carried him up, he thought with a slight blush of embarrassment – and came face to face with the three devils of hell: Ethan, Calen and Sienna.

The twins grinned at him with their trademark-Cheshire grins while Sienna pounced on his stomach, making him wince, "Aaaaaaaasteeeeeer! It's time to wake up from your nap!" This was the worst way for a person to be woken up from and Aster hated this way of waking up. These three devils, even if he did love them, were going to be the death of him.

Sienna Arendelle was the nine year old daughter of Anna and Kristoff and Christian's younger sister. She had a slender figure, a fair complexion with a few freckles across her nose, turquoise blue eyes, rosy cheeks, thin lips and long strawberry-blonde hair that was done in a simple braid. She looked more like her mother than her father.

"Get off, Sienna, before I freeze you," Aster warned the little girl, narrowing his eyes as he tried to get rid of his bed hair but failing. This was practically an empty threat, though. She was a member of the Arendelle family; anything related to ice or snow would do nothing to her.

Calen pouted, "But Aster, Auntie Red has come and she brought Sephtis!"

Aster shot out of bed, trying to tame his unruly bed hair with more fervor, "Aunt Red and Sephtis are here? Why didn't you guys tell me that sooner?!" It wasn't every day that he got to see his aunt – she was taking care of Wonderland, after all – or his cousin. It was rare when they did show up.

"We didn't have to time to tell you yet, Aster," Calen and Ethan said in unison, flying behind Aster while he and Sienna rushed down the stairs.

When they made it down, Aster was met with a nice sight. His mother, Aunt Elizabeth, Aunt Red and Sephtis were all sitting down around the kitchen table, Kristoff, Christian Anna and the rest of Shadowed Death next to them. Not only that, but Pitch, North and Cheshire were gathered there too.

Nikolas North was a tall, buff – and a little rotund – man, the former blacksmith of Wonderland. He had bright blue eyes, thick black eyebrows, and a long white beard and mustache. He was wearing a black fur hat, a long red coat with a black fur trim and a red plaid shirt. Aster had heard from his mother that he hailed from a different country and was a foreigner to their lands, which explained his odd accent.

Pitch Black – the former royal sorcerer – was a tall, lithe man with a dark appearance standing in front of him. He had silver-golden yellow eyes that resembled an eclipse, dull pale-gray skin, and glossy black hair that was styled to come out as slick spikes from the back of his head. He was wearing a long, black robe with a V-neck line with shadows running down his arms. Despite his threatening look, Pitch was a good man.

"I nearly missed the party," Aster grinned. It was nice seeing his family and friends when, most of the time, they were all too busy to unite this way. It was nice

Alice rolled her eyes, trying to hide a smirk, "There's a reason why I sent the twins and Sienna to wake you up. Once you slip into Morpheus's realm, there's no way to wake you up." She had learned that her son slept like a rock when she tried to wake him up with cold water but he had kept sleeping, as if nothing had happened.

"Haha," Aster replied – although he knew that his mother was right and he was a heavy sleeper. It was a habit that he had to get rid of. – before nodding his head in acknowledgement at his aunt and cousin, "Good to see you, Aunt Red, Sephtis."

"It's good to see you as well, Aster." Sephtis replied, smiling at him softly. Out of all of his cousins, Aster got along better with the fourteen year old. Even if he was younger than him, Sephtis was good company and had been a good friend to him when he had needed one.

Pitch ran a hand through Sephtis's hair, "It seems like just yesterday that you were beginning to speak. Your mother has taught you well."

Sephtis smiled, beaming at the praise of the sorcerer, "Thank you, Father."

It wasn't common knowledge that Pitch Black and Red Liddell had gotten married and had a child together, even though Aster had seen that coming. As far as the public knew, Red wasn't married and Sephtis's father had been a noble of Wonderland that had died during a battle. Aster laughed at the rumors that said that Red had birthed Sephtis without the need of a man. The citizens were odd, that's for sure.

"What's going on?" Aster asked.

"Usurping!" Ethan yelled out with a grin, "What else do we talk about?"

"Seriously? We finally have a plan?" Aster asked, showing an excitement that mirrored Ethan's. They had talked for a long time on how to tip the control of the kingdoms but they hadn't been able to execute it. It seemed the time had finally arrived. This is the moment Aster had been waiting for.

"You are aware of the Festival of the Suitors?" Red asked. He and the others nodded. Who didn't know about that? Once a year, all the nobles gathered to one of the kingdoms to find a husband or wife for themselves or their children. Rowan had once tried to sneak in to catch herself a rich husband when Arwyn had gotten her upset. Luckily, he had gotten her to calm down before going to Corona.

Sephtis sighed, crossing his arms, his eyes blank of any emotion, "This year, Winteria is the host. You know what that means, don't you?"

Aster's eyes widened at the implications and Alice spoke, "That means that every noble will be in Winteria castle, practically under our noses. We've been able to infiltrate the castle before so, even if the security is heightened, we'll be able to sneak in."

"We assassinate Jack, Bumby and Elsa," Aster continued, catching his mother's gaze. He proceeded when she nodded in agreement to what he was saying, "Elle will be, of course, the one that will succeed the throne after the assassinations. However, Christian is already eighteen, the right age to govern. In accordance to the previous king, either of his daughter's children will succeed the throne, so long as they are the right age to take the throne. This wasn't removed from his will even after Anna's disownment."

"That gives us the opportunity to put Christian on the throne." Elizabeth said, contemplating, "As for the Frost throne . . . Jack said that his eldest child will take the throne should something happen. Unfortunately for him and his daughters, Aster is older than Elle by three months and he's a male."

"We'll have the Arendelle, Winterian and Wonderland thrones secured." Anna nodded as she sat Sienna in her lap. The little girl smiled when she saw how happy everyone looked like. She hardly knew what was going but she did understand how everyone felt.

"Brilliant. How will we get in?" Arwyn asked.

"Mother and I have already been invited so it'll be easy getting in. We can't take to many people inside. Aster, Christian, Arwyn, Rowan, you're definitely going to come with us. Aunt Alice, Aunt Elizabeth, Miss Anna, I'm afraid you won't be able to come with us. Father, North, Cheshire, you'll stick out too much. Aria, you're not going either. Zayden, Sariya, Rayne, you'll also stick out too much. Kristoff, you don't look royal. Sienna, Ethan and Calen-."

"We're going!" The twins exclaimed. Sienna nodded, grinning happily. Everyone turned to look at the children, looking baffled. The twins and Sienna shared a look. They weren't going to let the adults and the teenagers do all the work, after all!

Calen winked, grinning that she had turned most of the silver-tongues into mutes, "We can turn invisible if the need rises and no one would suspect of you being assassins if there are children in your company. Besides, it'll be like a practice for us until we're actually allowed to go into a mission!"

"No," Elizabeth gasped out, staring at her twin children in shock. Her children weren't normally this reckless. Why would they volunteer to enter that dangerous castle? She didn't know whether to blame Cheshire or Aster for their daring attitude, "It is-."

"Actually a good idea. It'll help hone their abilities when they know that the stakes are way too high and that failure isn't an option." Alice interrupted her sister. They were right. No one would suspect that the group that had brought three children along with them would be assassins. It was very wise for them to notice that.

Elizabeth shot her an incredulous look, "I refuse to allow my son or daughter to partake in such a dangerous mission. You might not have cared if Aster got hurt during-." She was interrupted once again but not by Alice. Aster had created a sharp icicle and it was currently pointed at his aunt's throat, his green eyes narrowed angrily. Elizabeth didn't even dare gulp.

"Don't," Aster hissed in a dangerous tone as the icicle touched Elizabeth's throat, "you ever dare think that Mother never cared if I got hurt. If you think like that, Aunt, then you're sorely mistaken." The room had turned to degrees cooler than normal, judging with how most of them began to shiver. Like his father, Aster couldn't control his feelings when he was upset or angry.

"Settle down, Aster." Alice said sternly. Aster bowed his head slightly and the icicle being pointed at Elizabeth disappeared with a flick of his hand. Elizabeth released the breath she was holding. She should've known that Aster would react violently. He loved his mother and was going to kill his own father so Alice could regain her honor. Alice had been the one to raise him, not Jack.

"So, Calen, Ethan and Sienna are going?" Cheshire asked, "I think I can enter as well through invisibility. I'll keep watch over them." He placed his hand on Elizabeth's shoulder, "Don't worry. They'll be fine. Our children are from the Liddell family and are training as wizards and assassins. Sienna is from the Arendelle family and I've shown her some magic."

Elizabeth sighed, placing a hand over Cheshire's, "Alright. But keep them safe."

"We'll be fine." Ethan smiled at his mother. It wasn't his typical Cheshire-smile that he always does. It was a normal smile, which almost looked like Alice's. Elizabeth smiled weakly at her son and ruffled her daughter's hair.

"Alright then," Aster grinned, "It's time for us to crash this party."

_**~~~Bittersweet Lullaby~~~**_

_Winteria Castle_

Elle, Aerith and Rosine were both currently in the sitting room, along with the children of the nobles. Among them were Black Bumby, Artemis and Drew Dunbroch, Lilly Rider, the royals from their respective countries. There were other noble children but Aerith was bored of them. She wished she was with Siv and her siblings. They would be good company, even though they weren't royalty. They were just the children of E. Aster Bunnymund: the head of security and Jack's childhood friend.

Elva, Siv, Sorine, Rek, Gren and Freyr Bunnymund were all training to be knights and they were as quick, cunning, powerful and skilled as their father. Elva was the youngest at the age of seven, followed by nine year old Siv, then eleven year old Sorine, thirteen year old Rek, fourteen year old Gren and sixteen year old Freyr.

"None of these women catch my eye." Aerith heard Black say to another royal from Ruin and she saw Elle stiffen and huff. No doubt her sister was offended by Black's words.

"Oh really?" Drew Dunbroch asked in a Scottish accent, looking as if he had been offended. Judging by the look in his twin's face, Aerith knew that Drew was offended because Artemis had been called dull. He smirked, "Then what has caught your attention, oh great Black Bumby?"

Drew and Artemis Dunbroch, sons of Queen Merida Dunbroch, had inherited her curly red hair and blue eyes, looking like copies of the queen. Drew was dressed in a dark green shirt, black slacks and a black coat while Artemis was in a velvet green dress with a black sash around her waist.

Black raised an eyebrow before chuckling, "I have seen a beautiful creature of fantasy that has fiery eyes and an alluring voice. I'm afraid that no one can match up to that being." The network of spies from Ruin were currently looking for Siren at this very moment. The green-eyed assassin would be found soon and he'd belong to the kingdom of Ruin.

"Then she must be a pretty little thing to have caught your attention." Artemis said with a small smile, "She isn't a noble so is she a peasant from Ruin? Have you found out her name?"

"Not yet but soon I will have a name for my siren." He replied, smiling cruelly. He couldn't wait until he saw Siren again. If that assassin planned to kill him, it was possible that he'd come here. And he'll be waiting for him.

_**~~~Bittersweet Lullaby~~~**_

**Anime: That's all I have. Because I'm a terrible writer. I accept the stones that will be thrown at me. **


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